Fishermen have found that it is very difficult to carry rods and reels to the fishing site. Usually the lines get all tangle. Therefore, an objective of this invention is to design a fishing rod carrying case that eliminate the problems of tangle lines. A further objective of this invention is to ensure that the rods and reels will stay clean both when being carried to the fishing site and in storage. The inventor has design his case so that it will float and thus, if rod and reel in the case drops into water, it will float to the top and be easily retrieve. Also a case of this type must be light in weight, inexpensive to manufacture, look good and be easy to use. Therefore, it is an objective of this invention to make a light weight inexpensive carrying case that looks like luggages that is easy to use for carrying rods and reels.
One case for a fishing rod case is found in the U.S. Patent to Beck, U.S. Pat. No. 4,222,193 granted Sep. 16, 1998. This patent is a tubular sleeve made out of braided plastic filaments that covers a fishing rod. Beck's Patent unlike the applicant does not cover both the rod and reel. One of the objective of the applicant patent is to design a fishing rod carrying case that carries both the rod and reel so that an individual fisherman does not have to take the reel from the rod every time he stores it. Also this case carries the rod at full length and not broken down. Most rods break down into two or more pieces. Since most rods are five to six feet long a case that carries a non broken down rod is very awkward to carry. Thus, one of the objective of the invention is to make a carrying case that is not awkward to carry. Further, this carrying case does not look like a piece of luggage. One of the objective of the inventor was to design a carrying case for a rod and reel that looked like a piece of luggage. Lastly since this is just a covering over the rod the rod could easily be damages if the individual struck the rod case with the rod inside on an object while carrying it. This is especially true as to Beck's Patent since Beck carries the full length rod which would be awkward to carry and thus, could easily be struck against objects when being carried. To overcome this problem U.S. Patent to Evans U.S. Pat. No. 4,546,877 granted October 1985 has a tube portion to fit over the rod portion up to where the reel is attached. Then in Evans a small bag like structure fits over the reel. However, by using a solid tube like portion for the carrying case one eliminates the advantages of the soft sided carrying case. These advantages being that soft sided carrying cases do not age as quickly as hard sided cases and do not scuff as easy. Further, a soft sided case can be washed in a washer to clean it where as a hard case can not. Further, a soft sided case is usually lighter in weight then the hard sided cases. One of the objective of this invention is to create a soft sided case that has sufficient strength that the rods and reel carry in side will not be damage if the case is bumped or dropped. The Evans's Patent also has similar disadvantages as to the Beck's Patent in that it carries the rod in a non broken down position which makes it very awkward to carry and secondly it clearly does not look like a piece of luggage. Also, since it carries the rod in a non broken down position the case must be made of a length that is sufficient enough to handle the longest rods on the market which will thus make the case even more awkward for carrying most rods.
A further objective of the invention is to make a fabric covered case that is water proof and not subject to mold, mildew or rot.